Disrupters - Stonehenge - Video

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Fan-made Video. The footage is taken from the 'Operation Solstice - The Battle Of The Beanfield', 'Trashed' & 'Stonehenge 1986 - South On Two - Special Report' documentaries. The footage of Disrupters was recorded by Derek Williams live at the Jacquard, Norwich, in 1988. The audio track is from the 'Gas The Punx' Compilation released in 2005 on Overground Records.

On this day (June the 1st) in 1985, a convoy of new travellers, peace protestors, green activists and festival-goers set off from Savernake Forest in Wiltshire to establish the 12th annual free festival at Stonehenge. There were around 450 people in total, including many women and children. They never reached their destination. Eight miles from the Stones they were ambushed, assaulted and arrested with unprecedented brutality by a quasi-military police force.

Convoy members reported that after a stand-off of several hours, police attacked their procession of vehicles by entering the field where they were being contained, methodically smashing windows, beating people on the head with truncheons and using sledgehammers to damage the interiors of their coaches. The account was supported by all the independent witnesses and upheld by the subsequent court verdicts. The Beanfield was the field neighbouring the vehicles' location; when a large number of police officers entered the first field, many of the Convoy vehicles tried to escape by going through the Beanfield, where they were pursued and arrested by police.

At the time, the police alleged that they responded after they had come under attack, being pelted with lumps of wood, stones and even petrol bombs. They did not repeat these allegations in any of the subsequent court cases; no proof for any of them has ever come to light. Whilst the full account of events remains in dispute, a court judgement six years later found the police guilty of wrongful arrest, assault and criminal damage.